DHS Secretary Noem says Death Penalty on Table after Fatal Migrant Boat Tragedy
May 12, 2025
FAIR has long emphasized that illegal immigration often has a dark and tragic side, including the many deaths (as well as rapes, robberies, and other crimes and abuses) that accompany alien smuggling. On May 5, these concerns were exemplified when a human trafficking boat capsized off the coast of Southern California, killing at least three people. The next day, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that she is seeking the death penalty against the two smugglers in accordance with immigration law.
The boat was carrying a total of 16 passengers, including 14 adults and two minors. After the vessel capsized, three individuals drowned, including a 14-year-old boy. They were subsequently identified as Indian nationals. Seven others were missing, including the 10-year-old sister of the deceased boy. Four individuals were also pulled from the water in need of medical attention.
Five individuals involved in the human smuggling operation are now facing federal charges. This includes Mexican nationals Jesus Ivan Rodriguez-Leyva and Julio Cesar Zuniga-Luna, who were allegedly operating the boat, as well as Melissa Jennelle Cota, Gustavo Lara, and Sergio Rojas-Fregoso, allegedly waiting in their vehicles at Del Mar Beach to transport the disembarked illegal aliens into the country.
While the latter three face maximum sentences of 10 years in prison for transporting illegal aliens, Rodriguez-Leyva and Zuniga-Luna now face the death penalty because their actions resulted in at least three fatalities. The potential death penalty here is actually a provision of immigration law, with the Immigration and Nationality Act laying out significant penalties for migrant traffickers whose actions result in harm. Potential penalties for alien smuggling are broken down in a Department of Justice manual stating that “significant enhanced penalties are provided for in violations of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1) involving serious bodily injury or placing life in jeopardy,” and, crucially, “if the violation results in the death of any person, the defendant may be punished by death or by imprisonment for any term of years.”
https://www.fairus.org/blog/2025/05/12/dhs-secretary-noem-death-penalty-migrant-boat
